Stuffed peppers is a favorite comfort food, all the more because it embraces fall’s bell pepper harvest.  This recipe uses the classic ground beef and rice combination and adds mushrooms for an earthy note.  There is no need to precook the rice in this stovetop version!

Makes 4-5 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 to 5 large green. yellow or red peppers, rinsed and dried
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
• 8 oz. cremini or brown mushrooms, wiped clean, stems removed and finely chopped (about 2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 cup short grained white rice, uncooked
• 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Wash peppers thoroughly. Make a circular incision around the stem to remove it. Cut the tops off the peppers.  Remove seeds; rinse the inside of the pepper. Discard seeds and stems.   Set peppers and pepper tops aside.
2. Melt olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; sauté onion and mushrooms until onions are translucent and mushrooms are cooked through, about 8 minutes. Stir in Italian seasoning and set skillet aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef and rice by hand.  Season with salt and pepper. Add the mushroom onion mixture and mix thoroughly. Stuff meat, rice and mushroom mixture into peppers.  Do not overstuff. 
4. Place stuffed bell peppers into a large pot, making sure peppers are standing upright.  (To get peppers to stand upright in the pot, slice a tiny sliver off the bottom of each pepper to create a flat, stable base.) Add the pepper tops.  Pour in 2 cans of tomato sauce.  Fill one can with water (about 2 cups) and add that to the tomato sauce.  Gently stir to blend.    Peppers should be covered with sauce.
5. Cook in a covered pot on medium high heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. 

Tips:

• How to clean mushrooms: Give mushrooms a fast rinse under cool water or use a damp paper towel to get rid of the dirt. Do this right before cooking, not before storing them in the refrigerator. Don’t soak them in water because they will absorb too much water and become mushy. Pat them dry completely with a paper or cloth towel before cooking.

Recipe developed, tested and photographed by Diane Sokolofski